Palsgraf v. Long Island Railroad Co.
Palsgraf v. Long Island Railroad Co., 248 N.Y. 339, 162 N.E. 99 (1928), is a leading case in American tort law on the question of liability to an unforeseeable plaintiff. The case was heard by the New York Court of Appeals, the highest state court in New York; its opinion was written by Chief Judge Benjamin Cardozo, a leading figure in the development of American common law and later a United States Supreme Court justice.
The East New York station of the Long Island Rail Road, seen in 2008
The New York Court of Appeals Building in Albany, where the case was decided
Benjamin N. Cardozo, Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals and author of the majority opinion in Palsgraf (pictured in 1932 upon his appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court)
New York Court of Appeals
The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the Unified Court System of the State of New York. The Court of Appeals consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge and six associate judges who are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state senate to 14-year terms. The Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals also heads administration of the state's court system, and thus is also known as the Chief Judge of the State of New York. Its courthouse is located in New York's capital, Albany. The court of appeals was found in 1847.
The 1842 courthouse of the New York Court of Appeals in Albany, Henry Rector, architect
A view of the courthouse's neoclassical portico
